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This page contains house rule revisions to the lists of Attributes and Skills. Currently, these are just notions; once they have been nailed down and more strictly playtested, the revised lists and descriptions will be put on this page.

Attributes

Strength: Physical might as well as endurance

Perception: Sensory acuity and attentiveness

Dexterity: Fine motor skills, balance, and coordination

Technical: Aptitude for developing and maintaining electronics and software

If this is a description of what the aptitude is right now, I think a better description might be "the ability to construct/maintain/repair technological/physical (Medicine, First Aid) systems."

If this is a description of what the aptitude is right now, I think a better description might be "the use/operation of technology… principly that of vehicles (the only skill listed for Mechanical that doesn't concern the operation of vehicles or vehicle systems is Beast Riding)."

Technical and Mechanical are poorly worded, but the two sets of skills do seem to mostly make sense as they're written. I can see an argument for combining them, but it seems better to leave them the way they are, if only because I can't seem to think up a better alternative(s).

Knowledge: Intellect and degree of education

Possibly add a Charisma-like stat, moving some social skills under that attribute and adding some new ones (performance, maybe con, etc.)

This is an attribute I can see doing. It can be good to separate awareness from social ability. However, I can also see a rationale for leaving it as is. Conning someone requires you to be very perceptive of nonverbal cues, etc. Performance would require you to be able to perceive/feel the subtleties of a good piece of art. I could go either way on this stat.

Per the default rules, the whole difference between the Technical and Mechanical attributes seems to be "are you white collar" (doctor, programmer; Technical) or "are you blue collar" (space trucker, space auto mechanic; Mechanical). This doesn't really make a lot of sense to me as a difference in aptitude so much as it is a difference in training, which is the domain of skills. I'm not 100% sold on the idea of combining the two into some meta-skill (Mechanical Aptitude, Logic, or somesuch), but I'm considering it if only to maybe keep 6 attributes but redistribute them a bit. If I did take this approach, the vehicle piloting skills might be redistributed to Dexterity and the beast riding skill to something like Charisma or Perception. This requires a lot of thought before I actually commit to changing something, though.

Revised Skill List

Dexterity Skills

Dexterity

Agility, nimbleness, and fine control

Archaic Guns

Black powder weapons, flintlocks, muskets, and similar

Blaster

Any personal-scale blaster weaponry

Blaster Artillery

Fixed or multi-man-portable blaster weapons

Bowcaster

N/A - merged with Bows

Bows

Any stored-mechanical-energy weapon, including crossbows and bowcasters

Brawling Parry

N/A - merged with Brawling or Dodge

Dance

Poise and balance; knowledge of and proficiency in various specific dance styles

Dodge

Reaction skill - avoid being hit by any attack

Firearms

Slugthrowers and rail/coilguns

Grenade

Any indirect-fire thrown weapon

Lightsaber

Any lightsaber/plasma-blade weapon

Melee Combat

Any hand-to-hand weapon except for lightsabers

Melee Parry

N/A - merged with Melee Combat or Dodge

Missile Weapons

Any direct-fire or indirect-fire launcher device

Pick Pocket

N/A - renamed Sleight of Hand

Running

Running and maintaining balance while moving across difficult terrain

Sleight of Hand

Picking pockets, palming items, and concealing items on oneself

Thrown Weapons

Direct-fire thrown weapons such as knives

Vehicle Blasters

Vehicle-mounted blasters (speeder/walker weapons)

Vehicle Firearms

Vehicle-mountend ballistics

Knowledge Skills

Knowledge

Raw intellect and book learning

Alien Species

N/A - replaced with Biology and Cultures

Biology

Theoretical knowledge about organisms and biological systems; specialize in particular species

Bureaucracy

Information about how certain complex organizations operate

Business

Knowledge about business operations and economics

Chemistry

Theoretical knowledge about chemical interactions

Cultures

Knowledge about how certain cultural forms manifest and operate in general; specialize in particular species

Engineering

Theoretical knowledge of applied sciences. Specialize per subdomain of engineering

History

Book knowledge of past events

Intimidation

Ability to be threatening or imposing

Languages

Ability to learn and understand foreign and alien languages

Law Enforcement

Law enforcement procedure and the legal system

Military Tactics

Skill in deploying and maneuvering various types of military forces

Philosophy

Theoretical knowledge about various belief systems

Physics

Theoretical knowledge of cutting-edge physics

Planetary Systems

Geographic knowledge about specific planets and systems

Scholar

N/A - replaced with various specific knowledge skills

Streetwise

Knowledge of the criminal element - key movers and shakers, tactics, areas of specialization, and so forth

Survival

Knowledge of how to live off the land in a hostile environment

Tactics

N/A - renamed Military Tactics

Value

Ability to gauge the market value of various items

Willpower

Ability to resist coercion or wait for a potentially bigger payoff

Note that characters are assumed to have innate knowledge about their own species, so they get an automatic +2D to any Xenobiology or Xenosociology rolls for their own species (not building on specializations, only on the base skill).

Mechanical Skills

Mechanical

"Blue collar" hands-on work

Archaic Starship Piloting

Ability to pilot chemically- or solar-propelled vehicles

Astrogation

Ability to plot a hyperspace course between systems

Beast Riding

Ability to ride various live animals

Capital Ship Gunnery

Ability to fire weapons emplacements at capital scale

Capital Ship Piloting

Ability to physically pilot a capital-scale starship

Capital Ship Shields

N/A - rolled in to Shields

Communications

Ability to use various communications systems and follow proper communications protocols

Surgical skill, including ability to implant and maintain installed cybernetics and prosthetics

Repulsorlift Repair

Ability to repair repulsorlift systems

Security

Ability to repair, maintain, and defeat physical locks and similar security systems

Space Transports Repair

Ability to repair the physical structures of a freighter/transport, including solving systems integration issues

Starfighter Repair

Ability to repair the physical structures of a combat spaceship

Starship Weapon Repair

N/A - split up into Laser Repair and Launcher Repair

Sublight Drive Repair

Ability to repair spaceship sublight thruster systems

Walker Repair

Ability to repair walkers

Skills Notes

I don't think Grenade should be it's own skill. It seems like it would be better done as a specialization of Thrown Weapons.

Like the South Dakota Star Wars blogger, I don't think Lightsaber should be it's own skill, but a specialization of Melee Combat. I also think variant lightsabers such as the shoto (lightsaber short sword), variable length lightsabers, and double-bladed lightsabers should also be their own specializations.

I think Swoop Operation might be better used as a specialization of Repulsorlift Operation.

I think there needs to be an Acrobatics skill. Maybe lump it in with the Climbing/Jumping skill, make them all specializations, and call the skill Athletics.